FIRE: Part 2
by AdamWest17
Summary: FROM THE CREATOR OF FIRE AND CNDY COMES A COMBO OF THOSE TWO AND... Thats enough of that. This is the second part of my RWBY fanfic FIRE, Volume 2 and beyond. With the characters of CNDY added in, and some new people of course. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**FIRE Volume 2:**

 **(WARNING: The meeting of FIRE and CNDY is portrayed differently in this Fanfiction. for those of you who knows what this means, treat this as a different universe. To everyone else, enjoy!)**

 **Chapter 1: The New Team:**

Morpheus

He looks like trouble. That's what I thought when I saw this guy. Classic case of armed robber. Black clothes, great for hiding weapons. So I decided to follow him. He walked into a gun shop, so I followed him in after a minute or so. The shop was pretty basic, weapons on the walls and an eager salesman behind the counter. Apart from the criminal, there was just the shopkeeper and a girl, with purple tinged black hair. Then, the crook pulled out a gun.

"Money in the bag" He threw a bin bag at the shopkeeper, and aimed the gun at him

"Relax! Relax! I'm doing it!" He yelled, emptying the register. I looked over at the girl, who had her hand in her jacket, curled around a small sidearm. I nodded as I reached for my stun rods.

Tex

My alarm blared early in the morning. I slapped the snooze button without opening my eyes and flopped onto the floor, blinking lazily. I yawned and looked out the window, raining again, great. I looked around the room, the TV caught my eye, a small pink note was stuck to it. I crwaled over and read it:

 _Texia_

 _Going out, be back this evening_

 _Order some pizza if you want, I left some money downstairs!_

 _Buy whatever you want_ _Be sensible!_

 _Mum_

I smiled and stood up, scrunching the note into a ball and throwing it in the bin. I pulled on some clothes and went downstairs, flipping over the sofa and grabbing the money mum left. There was enough there to buy a medium pizza and something a bit more expensive. Mum knows me so well. I tied my dark purple hair into a ponytail, grabbed my coat (And a small pistol) and ran outside.

()

Shortly after arriving in the gun shop, the usual quiet lonely store gained two extra customers, a middle aged guy wearing black leather, and a boy wearing a long brown trench coat. All was well for a while, untill the leather clad guy pulled a gun on the shopkeeper.

"Money in the bag" He yelled. the owner shreiked as a bag landed in his arms

"Relax! Relax! I'm doing it!" He yelled back, emptying the register. I looked over at the boy, he nodded as I reached for my gun.

I fired a shot at the crook's gun, knocking it from his grip, as the boy leapt forward and clubbed him over the head with a short metal rod, sparking with electricity. The criminal fell forwards over the counter, unconscious.

Mark

I stood in a dark alleyway, a usual place for people like me to chill. But I wasnt 'Chilling'. I was looking for someone. I flexed my arm every time a suspicious looking person walked by, flashing my pruple eyes, daring them to make a move. By now, I was quite bored, this target was taking longer than usual to get here.

Finally, he walked by. A tall, thin man by the name of Romulus. I wasnt given a second name, which wasnt irregular. This particular man had escaped from the massacre at the Forsaken Wolves hideout, somehow getting through the Hunters and other Thieves. I pulled up my hood and face mask as I followed from a distance. Romulus walked further down the alleyway, into a dead end.

"Where... where is it?" He muttered, fumbling with a large sellection of keys. He threw them down in frustration, and patted himself down, spinning around to get some light. He saw my shadow and looked up. I admit, I look a little bit intimidating, with my black clothing and bright glowing eyes. The fact I can't talk might not help either.

"Who... what'd you want?" Romulus asked, wide-eyed. I pulled my mask down and smiled, extending my arms wide. He relaxed a bit, thinking I was friendly. What he didnt notice, was the dust in my hand. I threw it, igniting his arm. "AGH!" He patted his arm furiously, as I threw more dust, freezing him to the spot, and electricuting him. He fell to the floor. I smiled down at him. He leapt back up, drawing a dagger.

"Hey!" A girl stood a few mitres away, holding a sickle. Romulus ran past her, and I went to pursue him, but the girl got in the way. She smacked me in the side of the head with her hilt. I fell back, and held a hand to my head. She aimed a strike with her weapon, and I raised my arm, and heard the metal blade hit my metal arm. The blade shattered.

The girl stepped back as I got up. Either the hit to my head affected me worse than I thought, or the alleyway suddenly got darker.

Ash

Dark alleys. Never again. Seriously. I hear someone yelling, I think, hey, lets help a brother out. Then, that guy runs away, and leaves me with some... metal armed psycho! Then, this guy arrives!

"Ehem, judging by that outfit, and the broken sword, i'm guessing you two dont like eachother" A guy wearing dark clothes stood in the alley, shadows swirling around him "I'll take your names, if you please"

"Uh, who are you?" I asked, hoping this guy wasnt out to get me as well

"You first" He replied, looking at the crazy guy, who remained silent

"I'm Ashley Rook" I mumbled, stepping towards him

"Ok, great, since you asked nicely, I'm Fen Kuro, and who's your buddy?" The crazy guy smiled at Fen, before running at him, metal fist raised. Fen acted faster, throwing a small knife at the guys arm, sending sparks of electricity along his arm. He collapsed to the floor.

"Um, is he...?" I asked, poking him with my foot

"He's unconcsious" Fen replied, picking him up "Now, c'mon"

"Where are we going?" I asked nervously

"The holding cells at the VPD" he replied, walking away.

Morpheus

After the robbery attempt, I sat in the VPD with my newfound ally, Tex. We were told to wait, that we were going to meet some people. The officer finally returned, and gestured for us to follow.

"So, who are we meeting?" Tex asked, walking down the corridor of holding cells

"Three people, in all. Two convicted criminals and a huntsman" The officer replied

"Why would we need to meet them?" I asked "The criminals I mean"

"The two criminals are a one Mr Markus Leyano, and Miss Ashley Rook. Two skilled and capable fighters, who've had some bad luck in the past. We're working on a program to fix that, and you're going to help us" We reached our destination, an interrogation room, complete with one sided glass. Three people were sat aroung the table.

The first, was a girl, with her head on the table, sobbing. as we walked in, she looked up, revealing large red eyes, with mascara running down her tanned cheeks. The second, was a white haired boy, dressed in basic clothes, a hoodie, T-shirt and jeans, with a bulletproof vest and bandolier, containing several dust crystals. He sat strangely straight and quiet, opening and closing the fingers of his right arm. The third wasa dark skinned, dark haired, and dark clothed boy, just older than me. He leaned back casually, tossing a knife in the air, which the other boy eyed warily. Wolf ears on his head twitched every once and a while.

"Morpheus, Tex, this is Fen Kuro. One of the first to back the idea of criminals becoming hunters" The dark boy waved "The other two I've already talked about"

"What're they in for?" Tex asked, walking around to put a hand on the crying girls shoulder

"Markus here is in for Murder, theft, assault, tresspassing, grand theft auto, arson, and excessive speeding. Ashley was convicted for arson..."

"It wasnt my fault!" The girl wailed "I've done nothing wrong!" she sobbed and put her head in her hands again, Tex looked at the officer and scowled

"We should get this over with, I dont feel comfortable keeping this girl here" Fen said "As for the hitman, I don't know, not my area of expertise..."

"You dont have an area of expertise" I turned around to see another boy stood by the door. A blue haired Faunus, in a brown leather jacket. "Finding these guys is my job Fen. Anyway, he's a killer, yes, but there's no evidence he did them by choice, since he cant exactly speak..."

I looked over at Markus. He smiled, and pulled down his collar to reveal a deep scar across his neck. I must have flinched, because he slipped off his right glove to show off his metal arm.

"Hey, this is my thing Nat, I only invited you to help me restrain this guy" Fen pointed out

"Anyway, you four, are going to do something for us, you're going to go to Beacon, and become huntsmen and huntresses. If you don't, you go back to your nice cosy cell. Sound like a fair deal?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Face-off**

Mark

"To see whether you are worthy to go to this school, we're going to have a little competition, you will all fight in an arena against each other. May the best man, or woman, win" Goodwitch stated, before walking off to sit down and watch. We went to go get ready.

"Are you ready Mark?" Morpheus asked, pulling on his trenchcoat. I nodded. "Dont be afraid to let loose, the arena's probably seen worse" I tilted my head to the side, the universal look of confusion "You remember Nat Kane? He melted half the wall and floor" I gulped and finalised my armor. I took off my right glove and curled my metal fingers, heraing the satisfying metal clicks, and seeing the reflection of my bright purple eyes. Luckily they werent fake as well. I loaded the ammo, dust rounds and stun darts, then extended the short blade from my wrist. It was only the length of my lower arm, but thats all the extra reach I need. I stood up and walked for the arena entrance.

()

"Who're you afraid of fighting?" Tex asked Ashley, who glanced around and spotted me, then dropped her voice to a whisper

"Everyone, since I know you're all really good at fighting. Morpheus is a profesional hunter, Mark over there is a professional killer..." She began

"And me? I'm just a random girl who can shoot!" Tex pointed out, Ashley glanced around again, and I smiled kindly "Mark is creepy though... but... he is kinda..." Tex looked around as Ashley had done, saw me and blushed heavily. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Morpheus standing there.

"Hey, uh, when I said earlier... dont take that too literally..." He began, I realised he meant 'Dont kill everyone please'. I put a hand to my heart and nodded. "Ok, thanks. And why are you blushing?" I guess I blushed more at that, because he laughed and walked away.

"Alright, free for all fight, lets see how that goes shall we?" Goodwitch said over the loudspeaker.

Tex

Ok, I can do this. Morpheus and Mark will go straight for eachother, so I should take down Ash while they're doing that, assuming I can take her down.

"Begin!" Goodwitch commanded. As I thought, Morpheus rushed Straight for Mark, slamming his weapons into Mark's arm. He pushed it off and punched him, his arm steaming from some sort if compression mechanism. I almost forgot about Ash. She swung her sickle around and I dodged it by pure luck. I drew a pistol and my sword and fired off some rounds, which she dodged. Morpheus ran in, kicking Ash to the ground. Mark stood up slowly a short while away. I fired another round at him, forcing him to stick to the ground, and slammed my hilt into the back of Morpheus' head. He collapsed.

Mark

I dodged the round, laying low. And crawled towards the carnage. Tex knocked Morpheus out with her sword, and began to fight Ashley. Sword clashed against Sickle, sparking as the two fighters leapt back and forth. I stood up, staying crouched, as Tex fired a shot at Ashley, breaking her aura, and causing her to resign. I dashed in, grabbing her ankle and flipping her over. She leapt back up, readying her assault rifle. I changed my arm into shield form and deflected the hail of bullets. I threw dust, freezing her weapon solid. She picked up her sword and walked forwards, swinging her sword from the left. I extended the blade in my arm and blocked the attack, knocking her sword to the ground, before pushing her to the ground. I crouched low, and brought my fist back to finish her. Then it happened again.

()

"Finish him" I stood over the body of the man i'd just taken down, a criminal, who'd stolen from a wealthy organisation. I dropped to one knee, and raised my fist. I looked at my victims face. The man was middle aged, with wrinkles appearing on his head. His expression was what I saw first though. His eyes were wide with fear, not a trace of the usual defiant hatred of his normal foes. This man seemed to know he deserved it, but knew he couldnt go yet, he had a purpose he needed to find. My fist relaxed.

"Leyano, I gave you an order. Do it. Now" My master commanded. I stood up and faced him.

"No" I said quietly

"What?"

"I said, I wont kill him" I said again, louder. Master knocked me to the ground

"I'll deal with you later, now its time for this man to die" I heard Master drawing his dust pouch, and the man screaming as he undoubtably poured fire dust into his eyes

"GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The man wailed "PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

"SHUT UP YOU PATHETIC WORM!" Master yelled. I couldnt let him kill the man. I stood up, and crept over to Master, and kicked him off the man, who scrambled to his feet and ran, as fast as a now blind man could. Master turned to face me. "You... boy... you just made a very bad mistake"

()

He took me back to his house, and tied me to his chair. The persuasion chair, he called it. I looked down to see him holding a saw. I tried to scream, but only a faint croak came out. I spat blood out.

"Ah, yes, I decided you shouldnt speak again. Would you like to see?" The master pulled out a mirror, reflecting my neck, which had a long thin scar on it, stitched up badly. "Now, so you cant hit me again, how about we take your limbs too?" My eyes widened, I tried to scream again. "Lets start with... ah, the right arm. Try not to flinch my boy!" He drove the saw into my right arm, just below the elbow. I tried to scream, and failed once again. As the blood in my arm left me, so did my sanity. One drop at a time, my old persona was lost, leaving me with a person I barely knew. Whether he's better than the old guy, I do not know, for I only remember as far as that night onwards.

Tex

I dont know whether I technically won that. If the guy you're fighting passes out, is that a win? Mark lay in the infirmary bed, his mouth moving as if he could speak in his dreams. He stayed asleep and unwakeable all night, and I'd stayed with him. If i'd caused it, I had to say sorry.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Within**

Tex

I woke up the next morning, yawned, and stretched. Then looked over to the bed and almost jumped out of my seat.

"GAH!" Mark was sat up in bed, wide awake, looking at me with a confused expression. Either that meant 'What just happened?' or 'Why are you here?'. Because I'm stupid, I assumed it was the second one. "Um, I uh... Wanted to see if you were ok... did I do that? Sorry!" I mumbled. Mark continued to look confused. "Uh. You, were, unconscious for like, a day and a half. I stayed with you to, y'know... apologise for maybe causing it..." He shook his head firmly "Whoo, ok, thats good cuz I think you're a nice person and I didnt want to make a bad impression..." His face went back to confused. I sighed and sat back in my chair. Mark smiled and laughed silently. "This would be much easier if you could talk" I said stupidly, he gave me the 'You're telling me' look. "Is there any way to talk... Um, you want some paper or something..." I stood up and looked around on the spot. Then Mark grabbed my hand. I looked at him and blushed. His expression was both reassuring and intimidating, as if he were concentrating on a way to help. It was then I heard a voice in my head, a boys voice, smooth and melodic.

 _"Hey, can you hear me? Nod for yes?"_ the voice said. I nodded slowly, then looked at Mark to see if he saw me nodding to nobody in particular. He was smiling with relief. He raised an eyebrow as I looked at him.

 _"Hey! do you trust that guy there, the one holding your hand?"_ I knew the voice was imaginary, but I spoke a _yes_ in my head. _"Alright, thats good, because he's_ _kinda in your head right now... so... please dont freak out!?"_ I felt my face drain of colour, and Mark smiled, as if he was embarrased, the expression made me laugh aloud.

"Hahah! That's so freaking wierd! I just imagined a voice in my head that said it was you! Is that weird, thats bad isnt it?" I mumbled, getting anxious. Mark shook his head, as if I were stupid "Hey! Whats that look for?" I snapped.

 _"Do you know what semblances are?_ " The voice said again

 _Please stop talking to me_

 _"Seriously Tex, My semblance is telepathy, I can talk to you inside your head. I know this sounds insane, and is coming from a voice in your head, but its really me! Its Mark!"_ the voice urged, Mark looked at me, an expression of pleading on his face.

"Holy..."

Ash

I lost. I knew it! Pushed over by Morpheus, then finished by Tex! Though, I guess I made it out better than Mark, poor guy (Poor murderous psycho assassin) passed out. I decided to go see if he'd woken up. I walked past Morpheus on the way there, who stopped me to talk.

"Hey!" He said, grabbing my arm

"Hey Morph, whats up?" I responded calmly

"Um, sorry about, y'know, taking you down early" I started laughing

"HAHAH! You? Take me out? Dude, you went out FIRST! You got wrecked by Tex! How's the head by the way?" he touched the back of his skull

"Hey! At least I actually got knocked out!"

"Yeah, yeah, catch up with ya later, I'm going to check on Mark and Tex" I waved and walked off.

()

I got to the infirmary door and opened it. I looked through the door cautiously, and good job too. Mark was sat up in bed, and Tex was stood fully up. That wasnt the weird part though. They were holding hands. I opened the door fully as Tex said:

"Holy...!" The creaking of the door made her stop mid sentance "...Hey Ash, whats up?" she continued, casually as she could.

"Uh, nothing much, less than whats going on in here..." I said, nodding my head at Mark. Tex looked down, and remembered she was holding hands with Mark.

"Wha... oh! Right, Thats, uh, nothing..." She slipped her hand out of Marks, who shifted in his bed.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Anyway, just came to check you guys were Ok"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, we're... we're cool" Tex mumbled

"I can see that. I'm gonna go now, so... bye" I walked out quickly

Mark

"That was awkward right? You got that awkward feeling?" Tex said, pacing next to my bed

" _Yeah, the holding hands thing kinda set the whole thing up to go badly_ " I said telepathicallly

"You dont say? What was that for anyway? Some kind of thing to get a mental link?" She asked

" _Yeah, something like that_ " He lied. The truth was, he didnt know whether he was just trying to keep her calm, or he just wanted to hold her hand.

"We, um, gotta explain that"

" _Yeah_ "

"And _that_ "

" _Mhm. We'll just say, you learned how to read my face?_ "

"That wont work, we've got to..."

"How about, you tell the truth. As and when its needed?" I looked at the door, where Ozpin was stood

"Oh, professor! Uh, I was just..." Tex began

"Please Ms Rook, lying does not become you. I know about Mr Leyano's secret talent"

" _Do you?_ "

"Yes, I do. Anyway, it could be a valuable team asset. I would tell them. Maybe not now, maybe later, but you must tell them. I'll leave it to you" He raised his mug and walked out again.

()

I let Mark get some more rest. I got some too. Then headed down to get some food. I walked into the hall, and grabbed a plate of steak, then searched the crowd for my team.

" _Second from the back, look for my hair"_

I walked to the final bench, and saw a head of white hair, and proceeded to poke its owner

"Nice suit" I said, barely containing my laughter. The guy turned around. First thing I thought, Mark doesnt have yellow eyes, second thing, Oh crap, thats not Mark.

"Um, thanks" The guy said, running his hand through his hair "I'm Rowen" He wiggled his eyebrows. I frowned "Haha, joking. Thanks for the suit compliment. Who are you anyway?"

"Uh, Tex. New team..." I began

"Oh, hey! I remember you!" Fen Kuro was sat next to Rowen "Tex Callibre, likes guns a bit too much?"

"Sounds like me" I said, smiling

"How're you finding it?" He asked

"Its..." She thought about all the stuff that'd happened recently. The robbery, Mark collapsing, Mark being capable of talking via thoughts, Mark holding my hand... "...Its good actually"

"Just good? I heard you won the tryout thingy"

"Well, I technically didnt win, Mark just collapsed. So, is that a win?"

"Fair point, he's trying to get your attention by the way" I spun around to see Mark waving his arms in the air

 _"C'mon, who are you talking to?"_ Mark questioned

I smiled and walked towards him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Preparation**

Tex

If i'd looked weird before, one sentace sure sealed the deal.

"You're voice is really nice Mark" I said calmly. Ash stared at me.

"Tex" she said, eyes wide

"Hmm?"

"He... doesnt have a voice. He's mute" I mentally facepalmed for being so stupid

"I meant... if he had a voice, it would be nice!" I lied

 _"Smooth"_

 _Not like you could do better_

 _"I dont speak. So I dont sound stupid"_

 _Have you ever spoken?_

 _"I... dont want to talk about it"_

"Tex, you're creeping me out" Ash complained "You just zoned out"

"Sorry! Lost in thought"

Mark

Dreams. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. This case, very bad.

()

I woke up in the master's warehouse, still strapped to the chair. I could see the master anywhere, but I knew his damage had been done. I still couldnt speak, and my arm was a stump. The hair hanging over my eyes was stark white, as if he'd infused it with snow. I looked around for a way out. Where my arm used to be, the chair's straps were loose, so I wriggled my stump out of it. Then pulled my other arm slowly from its straps. The table of saws and knives was in reach, so I grabbed a knife and cut my legs free. I dropped to the floor. I seemed to be in a dust storage house. Crates of dust were stacked against the walls, along with some complicated machinery and weapons. One contraption caught my eye, a metal arm, painted black, was on top of a crate.

I stepped back, and ran before leaping from crate to crate, I grabbed the arm, and tore out the parts in the upper bicep. Then I placed it on my arm. I felt it go warm as it clicked several times, and the palm glowed red, full of fire dust. That could come in handy. Haha, handy.

The door burst open, and master walked in, he turned th lights on.

"What? Ugh, you're full of suprises boy. Come here and let me kill you!" He yelled, turning to look at the room. I picked up a spear, then climbed silently down to him. I got close, and prepared to kill him.

 _"You did this to me!"_ I thought hard. Master spun around

"What? How did you speak?" He yelled in rage. I opened my mouth and tried to talk, still nothing happened

 _"I didnt speak! I can't speak you crazy old man!"_

"You... get out of my head!" He thre a random punch at me, I dodged and rammed the spear through him, right through his ribcage, ripping through the lungs and heart. His eyes went wide as he fell backwards. "You... dont leave me like this!" He yelled as I walked away

 _"I dont owe you anything, nothing but hatred and pain. You can sit here and think about that before you die"_ I walked out, breathed the fresh air, and aimed my arm at the house.

 _"I should have done this sooner"_

Fire burst from my palm, igniting the edge of the house. I ran to a safe distance, and heard the house explode behind me.

()

"Mark? Hey, wake up! We'll be late!" Tex was shaking my shoulders

 _"Ugh, alright, alright..."_ I thought

"That better be a 'Yes of course Ma'am'" Tex taunted. I refrained from responding with sarcasm

 _"Where are we going?"_

"We're going to get stuff for the dance" Tex stated, grabbing her pistols

 _"Oh, the dance. huh"_

"Whats up with you?" Tex asked

 _"Nothing, just, havent got anyone to go with..."_ I pulled on my jacket, then turned around. Tex was stood right in front of me.

"You sure about that?"

Fen

Alright, lets get one thing straight, shopping with Rowen is bad enough, but shopping with Rowen and 2 girls? Dont get me started. By the end of 4 hours worth of shopping, we'd got all the stuff we needed for the dance, plus tons more. Rowen bought a new suit, a white tuxedo with a black shirt. As well as another top hat. I got a red jacket and black jeans (I leave the formal attire to Rowen). Eden bought a light green dress, and Iris bought a long white dress (Which looked really nice on her).

When we finally got ready, and went down to the ballroom, Rowen went off to find Yang while I waited for Iris.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Dancey Dances**

Fen

I stood outside and waited for Iris, watching as couples walked inside. Blake and Sun, Cho and Umar, Eugene and Candy, Nat and Drew...

"Heya there loner" Benny walked up, dressed in an unusually formal waistcoat "Who you waitin' for?"

"Who do you think? Iris! Who're you here for?" I wondered

"Uh... Y'know..." He mumbled something unintelligible

"I... Didn't catch that"

"Eden, I'm with Eden" he said

"Oh, cool" I turned back to the couples, several pairs I didn't know, including a black haired guy and a crimson haired girl, followed by a purple haired boy and a pink haired girl

"Its cool that Eugene's with Candy" Benny said, leaning against the wall

"Yeah, they're cute together" I said

"Don't let Nat hear you saying that. Old glow stick isn't too fond of the little guy" he laughed to himself "Ah, here they are!" He straightened his waistcoat nervously as Eden walked up and linked arms with him, followed by Iris, who gave me a kiss before taking my hand and leading me inside.

"You know how to dance right?" She asked jokingly

"Course I do, why would I go to a dance if I couldn't dance?" I replied, smiling

Tex

I was nervous. I had been ever since I'd basically gone up in Mark's face and yelled "Yo! I'm into you ya stupid!". Great move there on my part.

()

"You sure about that?" I blurted out, I was stood mere inches from Mark, after he'd expressed his sadness at having nobody to dance with.

" _What do you mean?"_ I answered by closing the distance, stepping forwards and kissing him, then stepped back

"Got it yet?" I asked sarcastically

" _Just about"_ I laughed then grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room.

Fen

The hall was fancy. Lights shined over clean white tables as fog rolled across the dance floor, where several couples were dancing already. Iris pulled me to the centre and we danced for a while.

"Pity your shadow powers aren't light, you could make this party way more interesting!" Iris grinned

"Hey, I like my shadow powers!"

"Just saying! Which would be more useful do you think?"

"Mine!" She laughed

"Well, Mr Dark Lord, can you go get some drinks?" She winked

"Ugh, sure"

()

I walked off to the punch bowl, where Ruby and Jaune were stood alone

"Hold my punch" He said, before handing the cup to Ruby, who took a sip from it

"That's both theft and disgusting, well done" I said, grabbing another cup

"Huh?" Ruby said, looking down at the cups "OH! EGH!" she dropped the cups and started coughing, then walked off, leaving me alone to grab some punch. As I was filling the first cup, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey... Oh..." I turned around to face the girl who tapped my shoulder. Almost everything about the girl screamed dark. Her black hair flowed around her dark face. Black lipstick covered her lips, and her fiery cat like eyes were rimmed with dark makeup. A long black dress flowed to her feet. "Well... You're... Decent looking. Want to dance?" she said

"Uh, sorry, getting drinks for a girl" I said, she shrugged

"Ah, shame. Everyone here's taken. Except my brother of course. Boring" She jerked her head at a guy standing a short way away. His long coat had plush fur linings, and he held a cane, with a long ebony shaft and jewelled hilt, which seemed to be dust. His black hair matched his sister's as well. "Well, enjoy your evening"

"Will do, uh..."

"Kat"

"Fen" I said, before filling up a second cup and walking away

Mark

"Hey!" someone grabbed my arm, a guy of around 20 "Ah, excuse me sir, you looked like someone I know. Bartholomew Blackthorn" He held out his hand and bowed, I rolled my eyes "And you are?" I looked at Tex to explain.

"Uh, sorry, he's mute. His name's Mark though. I'm Tex" She said

"Hmm, a strange name, is it an abbreviation?" Bartholomew asked. Is this guy actually that posh, or is he faking it?

"Uh, yeah. It's short for Texia" she replied

"Fascinating. Sorry for the inconvenience, but you looked a lot like a boy named Rowen. Do you know of anyone with this name?" He asked commandingly. Tex opened her mouth to speak.

 _Don't_ I thought hard.

"No, sorry" She answered

"Pity. Perhaps we shall meet again. Goodbye, Texia and Markus" He walked off, an elaborate cane clicking against the floor. I took Tex's hand and went back to dancing

"Who was that guy?" Tex whispered

 _I don't know, but I don't like him. And something tells me Rowen doesn't either_

Rowen

I ducked behind a table and grabbed my wand. I peered over, scanning the crowd, There they were, one by the punch bowl, one talking to Tex Calibre. Kat wasn't the problem, Bart was. If I could get to Kat and get her to leave, Bart would go with her. But how to get over there...

I took out my scroll and called Fen.

"Hey man, what's up?" Fen said through the speaker

"Listen, when I tell you to, I need you to cover the room in shadow" I commanded

"Uh, that wont work with this much lighting. My powers don't work in bright light remember?"

"Damn, any way around that?" Fen was silent for a minute

"Yeah , I got something, hold on" More silence "Alright, you ready now?"

"Yeah"

"Morph, hit the lights" Fen said. The lights dimmed, and shadows covered the room. I got up and leapt off the table, climbing to the balcony, before opening a window and jumping out. I crept around to the front doors. Which opened as I arrived. Bart walked out.

()

"Ah, Rowen, there you are! It's been so long!" Bart said, leaning on his cane "I would've thought you would at least say hello? Katrina was very upset when you ran away!"

"Go to hell Bart" I yelled, extending my wand into a staff. He walked forwards

"What? How could you say that to your own _brother_?" Bart sneered

"We're not brothers"

"We were raised together, were we not?"

"For 7 years? Yeah! 7 years of you hating me!" I ran forwards and struck with my staff, but he blocked it and countered with his cane.

"Ooh, got more fight in you than last time!" He hit again, knocking me to the ground "You got better at fighting, and so did I. The money helped of course" he kicked me as I struggled to get up

"You... Son of a..." I muttered

"Oh? Language? That's not very nice" He lifted me up and pinned me to the wall, and landed blow after blow. Then they stopped. I fell to the floor.

"Kuro? Again? Just DIE THIS TIME!" Bart threw Fen into the wall next to me

"I've got De Ja Vu..." He said, before falling unconscious

Mark

I think I'm a pretty good judge of character, and this only proves it.

"Well, guess you found Rowen" Tex said, staring at Blackthorn

"Yes, no thanks to you. Why would you keep that from me, you arrogant little..." I raised my arm and set his coat on fire. Then stepped forwards, extending the blade from my arm. Tex stepped forward next to me, pulling a pistol from her handbag.

 _Seriously? You brought a gun to the dance?_

 _"Hey, you brought a ton of dust and a sword in your arm"_

 _Fair point_

Blackthorn pointed his cane at us

"You think you can win? I beat two of your superiors! How could you possibly beat me?" He yelled, slamming his cane into my arm. I retaliated with a dust powered punch. He wiped a trail of blood from his mouth, then kicked my legs from under me, I stabbed at his leg, drawing blood, before he kicked again. He fell back as Tex shot his arm. He grabbed her and threw her over to Fen and Rowen. I got up and froze his leg in place. "Do you people EVER _STOP_?" He yelled and raised his cane to strike. Before he could, a shadowy figure picked him up and threw him into a wall. Then, I passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Dark Descent**

Tex

My alarm blared early in the morning. I slapped the snooze button without opening my eyes and flopped onto the floor, blinking lazily. I yawned and looked out the window, raining again, great. I looked around the room, everything was normal, except for the unconscious Mark on the floor, with a blanket over him. I stepped carefully over him and walked downstairs to the living room. The sofas were taken up by Fen and Rowen. A trickle of blood ran from Fen's head, and Rowen's face was scarred and bruised. I was about to walk into the kitchen when I heard voices.

"Cassie, I said I'm sorry..." A man's voice said

"I thought you were _dead_ Connor! I thought you were dead for 18 years!" Mum said, her voice shaking

"If I'd have come back, who knows what would've happened? Fen and Rowen already started down a bad path, I didn't want Tex to be the same!" the man said

"Rowen... Yes, the child of the woman you cheated on me with! That hardly helps the situation!"

"What about Fen?"

"Fennec... You gave him to the orphanage, you said you'd tell me where you took him, then you disappeared!" I stood in the doorway and waited for them to notice me.

"It wasn't part of the plan! I... I wanted to stay with you! With Fen and Tex! Rowen was adopted when he was five, I was planning to get Fen out but by the time I'd got there he was gone!" The man continued

"So... I was... 3?" I said calmly, they turned to face me

"Texia, dear, uh... This is..." Mum began

"Connor... Fen's dad..." I said

"And Rowen's... And yours" He said, stepping forward. I folded my arms

"And who's the last boy you brought in? You haven't explained him yet" Mum asked

"I don't know who that is, he was there with them though" Connor continued

"He's my..." I was about to say 'Boyfriend' when I realised it wasn't the best time "...Friend, Mark. What's wrong with them all anyway?"

"Mark has a few bruises and cuts, nothing too bad, Rowen has a few broken ribs, and Fen has a head injury, we don't know how severe" Mum explained "I guess you've met them all before at Beacon?"

"Yeah, Fen put me in the team, which Mark was on..." I began

"A boy named Morpheus and a Girl called Ashley visited asking for you, they more teammates?" Connor asked

"Yes" I heard a noise from the stairs and saw Mark coming down

 _"Where the hell are we?"_

 _My house_

"Uh hey, Mark" Connor muttered "Nice arm" Mark stayed silent and stood next to me

 _"Your parents?"_

 _I think so_

 _"You think so?"_

 _I've never met the guy before_

"Shall we try and wake the others?" Mum asked, we nodded

Mark

Tex and her mum went over to try and wake Rowen, and I stood back by her 'Dad'

"I'm Connor" he said "You don't talk much do you?"

"He doesn't talk at all Connor" Tex said

"Oh. Well then. Did you get that from the same place as your arm?" Connor said jokingly. I nodded seriously and his smile disappeared from his face. I laughed silently.

"Wha..." Rowen muttered, waking up. I walked over

"Its alright Rowen" Connor said crouching next to him

"Fen...?" He muttered

"We're checking on him now" Tex said, Rowen sat up and looked over at Fen as we walked over to him. He opened his eyes and looked at everyone around him, a blank expression on his face, then replaced by a mixture of confusion and fear.

"Who... Are all you people?" He muttered

"This is Mark, this is my mum" Tex said

"Who are _you_ though?" He muttered again

"I'm Tex, remember? The team we put together? In Beacon?" she asked

"Beacon? Hunters... Not good for me..." He mumbled

"You are a hunter though" Connor said

"No..." He looked at Connor "And Who're you?"

"I'm your father! Are your eyes ok?" Connor asked

"Connor... It might be his brain" Tex's mother said

"What?"

"His head. He hit it. He might have amnesia..."

"Ok, I have no idea who you all are, but I'm not a hunter, I'm a thief!" Fen said

"Fen" Rowen called

"Rowen? Where are you?"

"I'm over here. Dude, these people are cool. There's just something wrong with your head! You became a hunter, and brought down the Forsaken Wolves! Then you made a team of criminals at Beacon, which Tex and Mark are part of..."

"You realise how crazy this sounds right?"

"Just shut up and listen. That guy _is_ your dad, and I'm your brother apparently..."

"Half brother" Tex's mum said "And I'm your mother, and Tex is your sister"

"Ok, what?" Fen said

Fen

After several hours of trying to fill me in on what had happened, I finally grasped the general situation. Kinda.

"So we need to get back to Beacon?" I asked

"Yeah, but Rowen ought to stay here. His ribs need proper medical attention" Mum said

"Ok, well... How'd we get there? I'd guess we'd need Rowen's car" I pointed out

"We can use Morpheus'" Tex said

"Morpheus?" I asked

"My team leader. Guess we missed a few bits, but you'll get them soon enough" Tex said

"Are you sure most of the important bits are covered? No incredibly obvious holes?" I asked

"Don't think so..." Tex said

()

WRONG. We got back in time to get some food with the other hunters, and Tex told me to tell her when I wanted to leave, so she could show me to my room. I grabbed some food and sat down on a random table.

"Fen! Hey! Where did you _go?_ I looked everywhere for you!" a blonde girl with wings asked, followed by a brown haired girl

"Uh, um... I..." I began, trying to find words. This girl's wing were distracting, almost as distracting as her bright eyes

"Babe, you ok?" The blonde girl asked, sitting down next to me and holding my hand

"Uh, sorry, but I... Kinda have no idea who you are..." I muttered

"What? But..." she looked on the verge of tears

"Last night, I... Apparently hit my head, and I can't remember... Anything"

"What _do_ you remember?"

"Everything before I even _thought_ about going here" She leaned forward and looked into my eyes

"Well, in that case, I guess whoever filled you in left some bits out. I'm Iris, I'm your Girlfriend"

"How did I get a girlfriend?" I said stupidly, she laughed

"Like _that_. And this is Eden" She gestured towards the brown haired girl

"I like plants!" She shouted

"Can you... Confirm some stuff for me?" I asked

"Sure" She said kindly

()

"I'm not an orphan?" I checked

"True" Iris stated

"I have a dad who's alive?"

"True"

"I have a mother who's alive?"

"Do you?"

"Yeah, and a sister. Didn't you know that?"

"I don't think _you_ knew that before last night"

"What's your sister's name?" Eden asked

"Tex" I replied

"Like, Tex Calibre?"

"Yeah, that's the one, Unless you're familiar with any other people who sound like the names of swords or like guns too much"

"Oh yeah, where's Rowen?" Iris asked "Yang was looking for him, thinks he left her on purpose"

"He's at my... Is it technically my house? Tex's house. He's got some broken bones"

"Ooh, is he ok?" Eden asked

"I think so. Anyway, more questions. Did you know Rowen was my half brother?"

"Uh, we knew he was your brother, didn't know the 'half' bit" Eden replied

"Huh, weird. Why didn't anyone mention that to you?" I wondered aloud


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Remember to forget to remember

Fen

So, I woke up confused. Amnesia does that I guess. Iris filled in the gaps about stuff. My semblance could create solid shadows now, and I had a cool sword and daggers. I didn't get much time to ask about what exactly "Solid shadows" involved, so I went to sleep dreaming about what I could use them for. When I woke up, I was about to ask Iris what sort of things I could do, when I realised her and Eden were dressed in full combat gear.  
"Hey! What's going on?" I asked, getting out of bed

"Come on! The alarm's going!" Eden yelled

"What does that mean?" I asked, grabbing my clothes

"Means lots of stuff to kill! Huge hole opened in Vale, we need to kill some Grimm" Iris said "If you're up for that" She added

"Sure, I can test my semblance out a bit" I said.

()  
When we got to the breach, 3 teams were already in combat with a large group of Grimm. Team RWBY, JNPR and CFVY. A second pack of Grimm were running from the main group.

"Looks like they've got most of them, lets go kill those other ones" I suggested, the girls nodded. I concentrated making shadows move towards the monsters, and imagined throwing a hook to pull myself closer. I felt cold, silky material in my hand and pulled on it, launching myself towards them. I drew my sword and impaled the nearest Beowulf, who snarled and pushed me off. I created a giant hammer from shadow and crushed it, grabbing my sword again.

"Iris! Giant... Uh... Birds!" I yelled, pointing towards the giant birds incoming

"Kinda busy with these Ursai!" She yelled back. Lets test how good these shadows are at making things.

I looked at Iris, her large graceful white Faunus wings, and imagined a pair of dark wings emerging from my own back. No time to check it'd worked, I crouched down, and leapt into the air.

Rowen

After several anaesthetics, and a bit of beer, I felt better, good enough to walk down to buy some more anaesthetics anyway. For once, traffic wasn't the issue, unless Monsters count as traffic. I watched as team RWBY broke a hole in the ground, and team JNPR and CVFY arrived to help. Then my team arrived, complete with amnesiac brother, who seemed to be doing pretty well on his own, doing new shadow stuff I hadn't seen him do before, like grappling hooks and hammers and...

"WINGS? SINCE WHEN DOES AMNESIA GIVE YOU WINGS?" I yelled at the dark figure cutting down Nevermores "AND WINGS THAT WORK?" Fen grabbed the last Grimm and beheaded it, before landing gracefully. The shadowy bat wings disappeared.

"Alright, that wasn't too hard" He said, brushing himself off "What? Have I never done that before?"

"No. No you haven't" Iris said, eyes wide

"Well... Now we can both fly!" He said

"And you're even creepier than before" Eden muttered, Iris elbowed her to shut up

"How come you've only just found out how to do it?" I asked

"Um... Iris said I could make solid shadows... So..." He said, shrugging

"You thought you could do anything with them..." Iris muttered

"Why not? I'm basically creating matter!" He said, smiling

"What's the difference between the older Fen and this one?" I asked no-one in particular

"Maybe... Other me had some sort of mental block?" He suggested

"That would make sense. Kinda" Eden said

"Did I ever use it for anything except fighting?" He asked

"Not really... Now you mention it, he only ever really made fists and tentacles. Bit weird" Iris said

"At least we know what type of Faunus you are. Those looked like bat wings to me" I said

"Wait, I'm a Faunus?" Fen said, eyes wide, he then proceeded to try and find his ears

The next day

Fen

I sat on the roof at night and wondered. What was the old Fen like? Was he better than me now? There was obviously some differences, like the abilities. I was making random objects from shadows, cups, hats, knives. The material was smooth and silky, making the hat feel like cashmere. I disassembled the cups and wove the material into a long cloak, and tried it on. Not quite "Me", so I added a hood and pulled it up. The material felt remarkably real, and not just the absence of light from my shadow, as if the shadows were meant to be solid. I sat back down and got back to my thoughts.

I wish I could just, talk to the old me, find out what was different...

Wait. How detailed can my shadows be?

Tex

"You almost missed our first mission" Morpheus said for the hundredth time

"WE KNOW. You said that already" I replied

"You really got us worried" Ash said quietly

"Enough of that. How'd the dance go for you guys?" I asked

"Lame. Having nobody to go with sucks" Ash mumbled, folding her arms

"Uh, yeah. I didn't go with anyone either... So... Boring...uneventful I mean" Morpheus stuttered

"Morph, are you hiding something from us?" I asked, smiling

"No, no. Why would I do that?" He said

"C'mon, who'd you go with?" Ash asked, winking playfully

"I didn't go with her..." Morph muttered

"You met someone there?" I asked, Mark looked surprised next to me "Didn't most people have someone to go with? Except maybe Ruby, Jaune and Pyrrah? And obviously we know it wasn't Pyrrah, because she has a thing for Jaune... Ruby's too young for you..."

"Guys, it wasn't anyone you know. She's from Haven" he stated

"Did he just say 'Guys', since when did he say that?" Mark said telepathically

"Just tell us her name damn it!" Ash yelled

"Fine" We huddled in anticipation "Katrina Blackthorn" We all went silent

"Uh, Morph. We met her brother, not the nicest guy..." I muttered

"Kat's different! Seriously!" He defended "She hates Bart! She said she preferred her other brother, Rowen"

"Wait, is that like..." I began, before someone came through the door

"Yup, I didn't mention that to you. Bart and Kat are my adoptive siblings" Rowen said, leaning through the doorway "And Kat is better than Bart. I haven't seen her for about 5 years, but she never beat me up anyway" he smiled

"See? Totally fine!" Morph said

"Alright then, I'll take your word for it. Why're you here anyway?" I asked, Rowen handed me a long bag, like a gun case "Ooh! What's this?" I opened the bag and pulled out its contents. A longsword in a black sheath, with a broad blade and a jewelled hilt. "Whoa, thanks!"

"I didn't buy it! Your mum did!" Rowen said, waving as he left

"That. Is a nice sword" Ash gasped


End file.
